Well guys, it’s still crazy here at the newlywed house. We’re pretty much finished with the entire upstairs (main floor) level of the house (for now) and we are tired.
In fact, other than some small projects, we’ve decided not to do any more work until after the holidays.
Why?
Well, we think we deserve a break.
And because I want to decorate our house for the holidays…without all the distractions and clutter and mess that comes with remodeling.
And also because we want to live in our home for awhile and see what priorities we have for the next projects.
And in the meantime, we’re busy making this house our home.
Not that it isn’t already, thanks to the wonderful memories we’ve already started making here.
Wonderful memories like sweating and swearing while covered in ceiling dust and popcorn mess while Hubs and I struggle to remove the popcorn ceilings on the 4th of July since it was the only day he wouldn’t have to take off work to get it done.
And memories of yelling up and down the stairs about which lights and outlets were off so we could change all the switches and outlets from almond-colored to white.
And scuffing our knuckles on the sand paper while getting ready to paint all the trim in the entire house…all three coats of it!
Just kidding. Working on our house and “DIYing” everything we’ve done so far has been a huge blessing. Not only are we learning so much about our house and how to take care of it. We’ve making making decisions together, keeping each other accountable in sticking to our budget, learning to help each other and work better as team. We’re developing skills and finding out what we like and don’t like to do. For instance. Hubs does not like to paint. I do. (Usually.) Hubs like to build furniture. We both hate sanding by hand. (Thank goodness for hand sanders!)
And we’ve had a lot of good memories here just the two of us, like our first dinner here, our first night here, moving day, the day we got our living room all set up how we liked it, buying furniture, moving our things into the places we’ll keep them for as long as we stay here.
Plus, we’ve had two different housewarming parties now . Talk about a blessing!
It’s amazing the difference it makes to see and hear friends and family making themselves at home in your home. It’s amazing how much more like home it feels when it’s filled with so many people we love and care about.
Why?
Well, because welcoming friends and family into my home is one of my favorite things to do. I love entertaining. I love cooking for people, with people. I love sharing good food around a big table. I love sitting in the living room just talking for hours or playing games.
And yes, I love doing all those things with Hubs. Just the two of us.
But there’s something about the hustle and bustle that comes with having a full house.
It’s partly why I’m not sure I want to stop at just two kids (that’s Wyatt’s plan, for sure!)
It’s partly the reason I love to go stay with our families during the holidays even though it’s tempting to stay in and cozy up with Hubs, just the two of us in our quiet, happy home.
It’s partly the reason I so love our loud, crazy game nights with friends that always involve yelling and arguing.
I just love how happy a full house feels.
Because when a house is full of people, the right people anyway, it’s full of love.
That’s why I felt like I floating on cloud nine the night after our first house-warming party. And why I was so excited to have our friends come see out new home as soon as we could.
And now that our house has officially been warmed, we’re finally settled into this happy home. Maybe for five years, maybe for ten. Maybe forever!
What about you? What makes a house feel like home to you?
Your house is definitely “warmed”. I can feel the warmth everytime I am there. It was especially present during the party when all the family was there. I could see and feel the pride that you both have in your “home”. I can’t wait to spend some holidays there with you and help you make new traditions! Even though we gave you guys a hard time about all the “changes” you have made…I can honestly say it is now “your” home. It screams M+W when you walk in the door and I love everything about it.
Thank you! We are so excited and happy to be here and I’m so glad you think it “looks like us.” That’s exactly what we wanted! We can’t wait for more visits, too! And thanks for all your help!
Love this post! We bought our first house in April and have been *slowly* remodeling it as well. It’s definitely a work in progress! I’m always trying to find cheap ways to decorate it, where as the husband is all about painting the interior and exterior (he paints for a living…I got lucky!), fixing up the yard, and wanting to replace all the flooring (he dreams bigger / I’m the cheap one!).
I love that you talk about how you love your family and friends, and want to have more than two kids because of that. I’m in your same situation lol (I want a big family SO bad, I love all the different personalities everyone would bring!) – I want 4 kids and husband *originally* wanted 2 AT MOST, but now that we have one I think he’ll end up being ok with three, which makes me happy 🙂 I’m sure your husband will have a change of heart once he meets his first beautiful baby (and realizes that you’re the main caretaker LOL…like me!)
Ha! I loved this comment! I’m not sure I really want more than 2 kids, but it’s certainly tempting. I think we’ll just have to follow God’s direction on that one when we get to that point in life. Glad your hubby’s coming around for you, though! And yes, a house is always a work in progress!
I think our house started really feeling like “ours” when we started covering the walls with pictures of us and our family and putting the little momentos from our life around here and there. Its like putting the holes in the wall and hanging up those smiling faces is really leaving a mark. 🙂 Now anyone who walked into our home would know exactly who lives there and what our personalities are like
I so agree! Hubs even told me how much he felt more at home with things hanging on the walls. So true! Good luck as you keep making memories and leaving your mark more and more on your home! Isn’t it a great adventure?